Alpe d'Huez: The party mountain of the Tour de France
DPA
· 13.07.2022
21 hairpin bends to Alpe d'Huez
Almost 14 steep kilometres, 21 famous hairpin bends, several hundred thousand euphoric fans: the mountain finish in Alpe d'Huez marks the end of the 109th stage. Tour de France their boiling point on Thursday.
For the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the ski resort in the Alps is back on the programme - and the French are hoping for a home victory on the Tour's most famous mountain on their bank holidays.
What the Germans say about Alpe d'Huez
Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe) climbed up to 1850 metres as a young boy. "We went up there on holiday. I was ten or eleven and it was great fun. I just about managed it back then," said the 25-year-old. Kämna is expecting a "unique atmosphere" on Thursday. Simon Geschke is also looking forward to it (Cofidis): "Alpe d'Huez is always a huge party. It's a huge experience."
The 21 bends to Alpe d'Huez
From the valley village of Le Bourg d'Oisans, 21 hairpin bends lead up to the ski resort. They are counted backwards and each bend is named after a stage winner. Because at some point there were more winners than bends, some have two names. A German rider has never won. The last time Welshman Geraint Thomas won there was in 2018 - and also at the end of the Tour.
Pantani's record
The legendary pirate of the peloton not only holds the record with 36:50 minutes, which he only needed in 1995. No, Marco Pantani also rode the three fastest times. In 1994, the Italian, who died ten years later, needed 37:15 minutes and in 1997 it was 36:54.
The curve of the Dutch in Alpe d'Huez
The whole mountain will be a massive party on Thursday. The biggest event, however, will take place in turn seven. When the Dutch priest Jaap Reuten went skiing there in 1964, he couldn't believe that there was no church. So he had one built, pursued his profession there himself and rang the bells when his compatriot Joop Zoetemelk won the race in 1976. From then on, he did this for every Dutch victory, eight to date. The fans from Oranje turned the corner into their exclave and escalated a little more with every stage. Today, "Dutch corner" belongs to Alpe d'Huez like the Champs-Élysées belongs to Paris.
Lance and The Look
In 2001, Lance Armstrong bluffed the whole day. He stayed unusually far back in the peloton, contorting his face. Jan Ullrich hoped for a bad day from his rival and had his team ride at a high pace. But it was just a big show from Armstrong. At the foot of the climb, he let his helper José Luis Rubiera ride at a high pace, turned round to Ullrich once more - and rode away from everyone. The turn to Ullrich went down in cycling history as "The Look". Armstrong's gaze was not directed at his rival, as he explained in the ARD documentary "Being Jan Ullrich". He was merely looking at Rubiera.
Coppi's Alpe d'Huez premiere
The first winner on the climb, which has an average gradient of 8.1 per cent, was the Italian Fausto Coppi. It was also the first mountain finish in the history of the Tour de France in 1952. However, it would take until 1976 before the Tour returned to Alpe d'Huez. In 2013, the climb was even ridden twice in the 100th Tour.
Guerini's fall
It looked like a safe stage win for Team Telekom. The German racing team had to do without the injured Jan Ullrich in 1999, so Guiseppe Guerini set out to win the prestigious stage. However, around 800 metres before the finish, an amateur photographer ran into the Italian's bike and he crashed. "It was the worst moment of my life," said the mountain specialist. Guerini quickly recovered, got back on his bike and saved a lead of 21 seconds to the finish.
400 times per day
Due to its easy accessibility, Alpe d'Huez is also very popular with amateur cyclists. Grenoble is not far away and other famous climbs such as the Col du Galibier and the Col de la Croix de Fer are also close by. On average, 400 cyclists ride up the 21 hairpin bends every day, and in summer there are around 1000.
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